


Dying Of The Light

by Adrastia



Category: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XV, Kingsglaive, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016), Post-Canon, Romance, lunyx
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 06:15:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8193361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adrastia/pseuds/Adrastia
Summary: It's not yet the end for a certain Glaive and his charge. They deserve so much more...





	1. Chapter 1

  _Do not go gentle into that good night,_  
_Old age should burn and rave at close of day;_  
_Rage, rage against the dying of the light._

_“Rule well, young king.”_

Nyx Ultric collapsed wearily back on the concrete as exhaustion swept over him. Just one night had pushed him beyond his mental and physical breaking point. His shattered body trembled and smoked as fiery agony continually ripped through his limbs.

He spat blood and ashes out on the ground. Damn the Lucii. Humanity were nothing but pawns to them. He had stood defiant to the Lucian kings and faced their judgement but it was neither mercy nor pity that had anointed him with their power. His life was a mere novelty to them and their precious boon demanded the price of his very soul in return.

Nyx squinted into the dawning light. Was it always this beautiful? The sky was lit a magnificent pink as a hush fell over the lands. And just for a moment, a world gone completely mad felt almost at peace. 

A sudden lump rose to his throat. So it was time. A little earlier than expected but Nyx accepted his fate. His life was forfeit for good reason. And Death was coming for him. Not in a bloody battlefield among faithful compatriots but in the lonely and desolate aftermath of a godking’s rage.

Nyx watched as the delicate ashes of his flesh drifted by in the sunlight. His body and soul was still devoted to Luna but she was far beyond his reach now. His purpose in this life had been served, short as it may be. The monsters were no more and the future Queen was now moving towards her destiny. 

He was just a spent, broken corpse with no one else left to live for.

Nyx swallowed back a thick rise of despair. Silly, to be sentimental now of all time. What was the point of tears when in mere moments, he would be crumbling to dust and be blown away to the heavens? 

 _Was it not the dawn of day already?_  

Disorientated, he struggled to remember the Lucii’s exact words before the world had exploded into insanity. Something about the morning light? He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind.

Nyx was never afraid of death but now he almost feared life again. He didn’t want to think, he didn’t want to regret, he didn’t want to feel. He wanted to drift into the stars and leave this world a hero. If he stayed, there would be more failures, more haunting memories, more of him to sacrifice and he was just so _damn tired._

“Hey assholes, I’m still here waiting for you!” Yelling into the skies left him wheezing and coughing out ashes, but damn if didn’t it feel good. He would have given them the finger too were it not crumbling away.

Silence as the minutes slipped by.   

This was getting ridiculous. He twisted around, wincing as fresh agony seared his neck and shoulders. Where Drautos lay behind here minutes ago, there was only an empty, fragmented crater. Alarmed, Nyx whipped around searching for a crumpled body.... pieces of a body….anything.

Nothing.

Distant shouts and gunfire echoed in the far horizon but he was completely alone in the ruins. Nyx tried to calm his hammering heart. General Glauca was gone. _How was this possible?_   The monster had been broken, he had seen to it. But doubts lingered in his mind. There were rumors of technologically advanced Niflheim armor that regenerated the wearer's health. Glauca was an immeasurably powerful foe, but his true potency seemed to come from his strange suit of armor that moved like black liquid…..

Nyx grunted in pain as he slowly got up on one knee. So this was not the day he was to lie down a nameless corpse. His duty was not yet done. Perhaps the godkings will remember him after all and he might suddenly explode in a cloud of dust. But he wasn’t waiting around for that. Something had gone wrong and for better or worse, he was somehow still living and breathing in this damn world. 

_Luna_

His thoughts turned to a memory of her pale, exquisite face. Her eyes were glittering unshed tears when he last left her, her fingers trembling as he pressed the Ring of the Lucci into her hands. He had no choice but to place her life with the loyal Libertus but she was not yet safe. Not even close. He had failed to end the General’s reign and he could not rest until he was by her side again.

_They had to be saved._

Nyx gritted his teeth as he shakily examined his smoldering wounds. His charred skin felt on fire and he still hacked up bloody ashes but he was not completely paralyzed. There also seemed to be some remnant of power, a mysterious warmth that spread and soothed the worst of his agonizing burns. 

Still, it would take time to fully recover and his grievous injuries meant warping was out of reach. But it also meant that he was not at death’s door yet. Nyx still had time. An unknown amount of time but it was better than nothing. Whatever peace he was looking for in the stars will have to wait. He could only hope he still had the strength to see this through to the end.

Nyx paused, smiling bleakly as the morning sun warmed his newly scarred face.

A woman. A complete stranger to him only mere days ago. How twisted was fate that it took preventing her death to give him a reason to live.

_Lunafreya, their future Queen with the fate of the world in her hands._

She was still out there, vulnerable and unaware of the coming danger.  Nyx 's eyes urgently swept the horizon. There - the crumbling bridge leading out of Insomnia. A surging crowd on it meant it was the sole means to escape this cursed city.

_Luna, Libertus my brother, I’m coming._

He had to get moving.  For Death was after them all.


	2. Chapter 2

Princess?”

Libertus scanned the distance warily as Luna stood there. They were not yet safe here in the middle of the ruined highway. He had to get her out as fast as possible but she remained stubbornly still, facing the razed city of Insomnia. He knew what they were both hoping to see - a tall laconic figure with the cocky, familiar face walking towards them, somehow still alive.

Libertus tore his own eyes away from the city, suppressing hope he still secretly harbored. He had to focus on his mission. His blood brother was dead. No one walks away from a one on one battle with General Glauca and lives.

“Your highness.” He called out again but the princess did not even seemed to hear him. Libertus felt a surge of exasperation but he knew that Luna’s reluctance to leave went beyond mere concern.

Despite his aloof demeanor, Nyx had no lack of women drawn to him and the princess looked to be no exception. The look she had given Nyx before they were forced to flee spoke volumes. Betrothed or not, Luna’s mind was on no other man but his best friend.

But this was no time to stop and grieve.

“We should move, it ain’t safe here either.” Libertus limped to her side. “Don’t worry about Nyx.” He swallowed hard as even his own words felt hollow. “He can take care of himself.”

“No.” Luna finally turned and looked resolutely at him. “We must part ways here.”

“What?” A confused furrow.

“I could hardly travel in secrecy alongside so great a hero. And I too have a promise to keep to Nyx.” She smiled wanly “I pray you two see each other again soon.”

Libertus’s vision blurred as he looked away to keep the tears from flowing. “Yeah…..me too.”

“Thank you…..Libertus”

The warrior opened his mouth to protest but then stopped himself. He admired her composure even though he thought her decision foolish. But, he was just a mere soldier. Who was he to force his presence upon the Oracle and future Queen if she refused him?

His thoughts turned back to the razed city smoldering behind him. In a fit of rage, he had abandoned Insomnia's citizens, even turned on them. He didn't know if redemption was still possible, but he had to try. 

Perhaps,

_there is hope he could still be alive he could just be hurt you need to search for….._

Libertus shook his head.

No.

He was not the wisest of men but he wasn’t a foolish one either. This was no time for false hope, not while he still had some strength left in him. His energy would be best spent helping the people of Insomnia instead. To try to undo some of the damage they had all caused.

Hobbling to rest on some rubble, Libertus watched for a second then called out with false cheerfulness.

“Hey Queen, you and the King will always be welcomed in Galahd. Me and Nyx will be waiting for you!”

He saw a glimpse of a sad smile, and then the princess’s departing figure quickly vanished into the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please forgive any lore mistakes as I'm unfamiliar with FF. I couldn't leave Kingsglaive's amazing characters well enough behind though..


	3. Chapter 3

Insomnia lay before Libertus in unrecognizable ruins. The blazing fires had turned the skies a flaming crimson and the air was thick with smoke and despair.  The soldier felt completely lost and off kilter as he limped his way through the chaos of the war’s aftermath. Numerous medical tents were already set up for the injured even as ambulances wailed through the razed city. Making his way through crowds of the wounded, Libertus finally found an empty cot and gratefully laid down on it. Alone in the the midst of so much destruction, he buried his face in his hands and tried to comprehend the scope of his loss.

Crowe, Luche, Nyx, Pelna, every one of his friends were dead and gone. He was the last of the titular Kingsglaives, for any others left alive were traitors to kingdom.

He closed his eyes and drifted in and out of consciousness, haunted by hazy memories.

_Late nights drinking with his friends, ridiculing new Glaives at the training grounds, putting their gils together for presents they could scarcely afford, trusting that their implicit bond could not be broken...._

They were all despised outsiders, sent out to fight and die for a country that will never fully accept them. Orphans and barely tolerated immigrants who could only afford a shitty room’s rent and lived a relentless, harsh life that battered their minds and bodies. Few had any dreams outside of their black uniforms and fewer made it back alive. Their days were often spent bathed in blood, always fighting something monstrous, always travelling somewhere harrowing. By any standards, the Glaives never have and never will enjoy rich long lives.  

But they took strength from one another and made the best with the hand they were dealt with. A hot shared meal and smuggled beer passed around in a frosty mug. A look across the battlefields with an unspoken promise “I’m here with you. You will see home again because I will have your back.”

The Glaives learnt that family isn’t who you were born to. It’s who you would die for.

Libertus dreamed of Crowe and her dreadful attempts at cooking that they all silently suffered through. He never understood her sudden domestic interest. Perhaps she felt the need to take care of her brothers, being positioned so far from them in battle. He would never know since any gentle prodding was always met with a scowl. She also never acknowledged the bout of food poisoning that sent half the battalion to the medics but it apparently ended her homely endeavors for good.

Now Libertus would give anything to taste one of her appalling dishes again.

His thoughts turned to Luche in despair.

What had happened to his traitorous friend? He had the brightest future among them, the well respected officer with the burning desire to be someone beyond a Kingsglaive.  A voracious reader, Luche’s apartment was constantly filled floor to ceiling with piles of books and scrolls. Whenever he traveled, he would bring back yet another map or journal to bury himself in. There was no end to his thirst of knowledge about the world beyond Insomnia. He was smart and disciplined with an ambition that drove him though the ranks. It was almost a given among the Glaives that that Luche would be next in line to Commander Drautos. 

That is, if Nyx Ulric wasn’t in his way.

Libertus felt uneasiness turn his stomach now that Luche’s betrayal was laid bare. He remembered the resentful glances as Nyx was summoned to their Commander's side for yet another private meeting. Luche remained stoic, but he could not completely mask the simmering jealousy as he watched Drautos whisk his favored pupil from one important mission and training session to another.

Libertus didn’t always agree with the envy, but he understood it.

It was obvious their Commander saw something in Nyx that made him push the brash, impetuous Glaive far beyond the others. Drautos was sparse with praise and harsh in his criticism but he could never get the bullheaded soldier to break. Nyx did not always appreciate the extra attention and constantly pushed back on the boundaries of Drautos’s leadership. It lead to numerous strife and tense words but a begrudging respect began to develop between the two men.

For the most part, Nyx understood his role and held his tongue, remaining a steadfast, loyal subordinate. Under his Commander’s unforgiving regiment, Nyx’s already impressive combat skills grew by leaps and bounds as he became known even among his elite peers for his exceptional prowess in battle……

Libertus stirred restlessly in his dreams. A sudden memory of waking up screaming from old battle wounds and finding his way to Nyx’s door one late night. He remembered being gently helped into the tiny room with no judgement or questions asked. Just a warm blanket and a sympathetic ear that listened and understood. And while his companion dozed on the sofa, Libertus slept better than he could remember in years.

He in turn returned the favor many times over. Nyx often arrived at his apartment, ragged and exhausted from terrible nightmares that still tormented him. Unable to express their shared anguish, the two spent many long nights in the comfortable silence of old friends. The city slumbered above them as they watched childhood cartoons, sipped cold coffee and together waited for the dawn to arrive.

These memories haunted Libertus. He simply could not imagine a life without his blood brother. Nyx was blunt and often difficult, unyielding and infuriatingly hard headed. But he was also unselfish, ungrudging and lavished his life and soul to those he deemed family. His aid generous and his loyalty unquestionable, Nyx willingly gave his heart’s last blood for his loved ones.

With Nyx by his side, Libertus never felt wanting for support or friendship. Now without him, Libertus was lost and untethered, thrown into a chaotic world gone mad that he did not recognize anymore.


End file.
